


An Unwelcome Revelation

by Siver



Series: Final Fantasy VI/Ghost Trick [51]
Category: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Genre: AU of the AU, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, FFVI GT AU, Final Fantasy VI AU, Gen, kid!Cabanela
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-24 19:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20912771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siver/pseuds/Siver
Summary: Cidgeon makes a discovery about the boy he took in.





	An Unwelcome Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> Fictober Day 5
> 
> Context: A branch AU of the main FFVI AU.  
As a kid Cabanela was taken by the much nastier Doctor Asbolus instead of Cidgeon and was intended to be raised and melded into some kind of weapon and tool. Cidgeon rescued him and they end up being taken in by Figaro where Cabanela was raised alongside Prince Jowd.

Cidgeon frowned at Lovey-Dove. She shuddered and gave a low coo as he ran careful fingers over the machinery around her legs. He stroked her head. “Easy girl.” There was a malfunction as he thought. The whole mechanism appeared to be breaking, and worse, causing injury.

He glanced over at Cabanela who sat on a stool nearby with a large book open in his lap while one foot kicked between the stool legs as if to tap the air to some unheard rhythm. The boy was proving to be highly intelligent and while he showed little interest in machinery and at times even an aversion—Cidgeon didn’t blame him, but hoped that would pass given time—he had showed an interest in Figaro’s history. So, Cidgeon dug out a book from the library that looked advanced enough to keep his interest but not so much as to be totally beyond him. It was proving a success so far, keeping him occupied, for now at least.

He looked back at Lovey-Dove and rested a soothing hand over her. “Sleep,” he muttered and let the magic flow.

Lovey-Dove’s head drooped. There was a sharp intake of breath. Cabanela sat rigid and stared straight ahead, his hands clenching around the book.

“What is it, boy?”

Cabanela shook his head and dropped his gaze to the book. “N-nothing.”

Cidgeon frowned suspiciously at him, but Lovey-Dove needed his attention now. He cautiously eased up the plate of the offending mechanism to reveal damaged flesh and bloodied feathers. He hissed through his teeth. Damn the man. There had to be a better way of doing this. If could he remove everything Asbolus had done, all the better, but he knew her chances of survival would be slim at best. This at least he could mend and without a second thought cast a white wind over the injury.

There was a thump. Cabanela stared at him, rigid once more and his book was on the floor. “Vector… I’ve felt that before.” he gasped. “You did something.”

Cidgeon’s blood ran cold. Twice was no coincidence. “What did you feel?” he asked sharply. Possibilities flew through his mind. What did he know? What did Asbolus know? He cursed himself for a fool, a moment of complacency after years of careful secrecy.

“It was warm and tingling.” Cabanela looked down. “It was… different this time. It almost hurt before with the Esper.” Cabanela’s eyes widened and hovering at the edge of the stool, he looked ready to bolt.

Cidgeon stared. “How do you know about that?” He’d barely been able to find out anything. They gave their researcher plenty of work. Trust had been another matter entirely. If he’d been able to stay longer... maybe… He shook himself; things that couldn’t be changed, but now this boy knew?

“I…”

“Tell me.”

Cabanela swallowed and his fingers drummed rapidly against his legs. “I… I followed Asbolus to one of the deeper labs. I overheard them talking. There was something about an Esper and magic. Then I felt funny, prickling all over and there was a flash and yelling and I ran. Asbolus was really angry that night…” His fingers slowed and he looked at Cidgeon with a sudden wonder. “You’re not a—.”

Cidgeon snorted. “No.”

“But that was magic.”

“Yeah.” Cidgeon sighed. “And you can feel it. Can you use magic?”

“I never have before. People can’t.”

“A lie we need to maintain,” Cidgeon said flatly. There had been something he hadn’t been able to put his finger on about the boy since he took him, but he never expected this. What did this mean? Was there a Thamasan in his family? Were there other pockets of Magi descendants hidden away? He’d wondered before. Or the worst possibility. “Does Asbolus know?” Had it been something done to him? What did the Empire know now? How far had they come?

“I dunno. I never told him.”

“Did he do something? A test, something he might have experimented with?”

“I don’t know!” Cabanela burst out. “He did a lot,” he added in a mutter.

Cidgeon sighed. He was making too many mistakes today and pushing the boy wasn’t going to do anything good here. “I’m sorry, but it’s imperative no one knows of this least of all the Empire.”

“He never talked about it.”

Cidgeon nodded. It seemed the best they could hope for. Cabanela gave him a curious look.

“How come you can use magic?”

“You know something of the War of the Magi?”

“A biiit…”

“There are a few descendants of the Magi left living in secret. Magic lives on through us.”

“Am I one? Could I learn?”

Cidgeon eyed him. “It’s possible there was someone in your family,” he said slowly. It was one explanation. “But you can’t learn what you don’t have.” And thankfully it seemed he didn’t have magic in its entirety.

Cabanela ducked his head. “I see.”

“Consider yourself lucky.” Cidgeon rose from his seat. “Learn more about the war. Consider those like Asbolus. It’s a force best left alone.”

“Yes Professor.”

“Cabanela.” Cabanela looked up and Cidgeon held his gaze. “You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even Jowd. The less known the better off everyone is. Do I have your promise?”

“I promise.” He slipped off the stool and scooped the book up. He stared at it for a moment then back at Cidgeon. “Will…” He drew himself up and a light entered his eyes. “Will you teach me more about it?”

Cidgeon blinked. He never asked him for anything, had only done so when they were leaving the labs and he’d pleaded with him to take Lovey-Dove. “There’s only so much I can tell you about, but we’ll discuss it later, all right? I need to speak with His Majesty.” Gather some needed materials and possibly some extra insight.

Cabanela nodded and looked worriedly at Lovey-Dove. “Will she be okay?”

“She will be when I can get what I need,” Cidgeon said. “She should stay asleep for a while, and I’ll try not to be long, but keep an eye on her.”

Cabanela nodded again. Cidgeon left the room. Just who had he saved from those labs? He only hoped Asbolus hadn’t known what he had, whatever that was. Things had grown simpler since they arrived in Figaro; this was an unwelcome complication. He tried to comfort himself in that Cabanela had shown no signs of magic; sensing held its own dangers in the wrong hands, but they were safe here and another reason to be glad he got Cabanela out. There was little more to be done but keep an eye on the situation and see to it the boy was well-educated. For now Lovey-Dove needed him and this particular task looked more straightforward on this side of these revelations.


End file.
